


speaking in tongues

by youngamerican



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 18:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3660759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngamerican/pseuds/youngamerican
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Kageyama thought he and Hinata were dating and one time they actually were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	speaking in tongues

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maudlintrash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maudlintrash/gifts).



1.  
It happened right after volleyball practice, when it was Hinata and Kageyama’s turn as underclassman to stay late and do some of the extra cleaning (that should technically be done every night, but in reality was only done once a week). 

The others had left less than an hour ago, Nishinoya leaping on Tanaka’s shoulders as they charged out the front door of the gymnasium, Tanaka screaming something about how not having to stay after practice to do the extra cleaning was one of the “perks of being a senppppppppaiiiiiii!”

Kageyama had scoffed, but his usual biting anger had been strangely absent that day. 

Hinata had even hit him with a ball (in the shoulder, not on the back of the head, thank god) but all Kageyama did in response was to tell him to be more careful next time.

He’s finally going to kill me, Hinata decided as he swept little piles of dust up on the floor. He’s trying to lull me into a false sense of security, and then he’s going to kill me. That would explain it.

Being too focused on the floor, Hinata hadn’t noticed Kageyama standing anxiously and awkwardly behind him. 

It wasn’t until he turned to retrieve the dust pan that he realized where Kageyama was, as he had ended up with a face full of Kageyama’s chest.

Hinata immediately bounded backwards and, without even thinking, held the broom up threateningly. “My parents and Natsu would miss me and you can’t play volleyball in prison. I think.” 

Kageyama frowned and yanked at the broom. “Stop being ridiculous.”

“No, you’re going to try to kill me! I have to die like a man!”

“Put down the broom, moron!”

Hinata shook his head stubbornly.

“If I wanted to kill you, believe me, you’d already be dead!” Kageyama yelled.

 _That_ was more like the Kageyama that Hinata knew and feared.

Hinata looked at the way Kageyama was clenching and unclenching his fists and decided that it was probably better to just drop the broom and accept the inevitability of his death than to keep arguing.

“Okay, okay, the broom is being put down. I am stepping away from the broom.”

“I don’t even know why you thought you needed it in the first place, you dumbass,” Kageyama replied, annoyed.

“Because you’ve been acting all weird and quiet today and I thought that probably meant today was the day you’d decided I’d finally annoyed you enough and you were going to end it now that everyone is gone and there are no witnesses,” Hinata said, all in a rush.

“Really?” Kageyama demanded. “I’m a little quieter than usual today and you assume that means _murder_? God, out of all the idiots I had to…No," he almost seemed to be talking to himself. "This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. I…Hinata.” Kageyama was making that weird face he had on rare occasions when he was actually trying to be nice to Hinata, and his voice had gentled into something almost unrecognizable.

“Hinata,” he said again, stronger this time, “I don’t…know how to say this….you know I’m not good with words. Uh….That is….well….”

Hinata was shocked. It was true that Kageyama normally didn’t exactly have a way with words, but the unsure, stumbling Kageyama before him was a far cry from the confident Kageyama that Hinata was used to.

Kageyama had stopped speaking completely, seemingly frustrated with his own inability to properly articulate the thoughts in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, inhaled, and then exhaled sharply before practically screaming, “HINATAILIKEYOU.”

What?

“I have no idea what you just said,” Hinata replied, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Kageyama grit his teeth. “I said…” he repeated slowly, “that I….like you…you complete….idiot.”

Oh. Was that all?

“Well,” Hinata said, rocking back and forth on his heels, “I like you too, of course.” Hinata and Kageyama fought all the time, and Kageyama would cheat in about 90% of their races, and Hinata still thought Kageyama didn’t toss to him enough, but he still liked him. Kageyama was his best friend.

Kageyama froze. Surely, the easy and thoughtless way that Hinata had responded meant that…maybe he didn’t quite get what kind of _like_ Kageyama was talking about. 

“No, I don’t mean….I…let me put this another way.” He looked Hinata dead in the eyes. “I want to do more than toss with you, Hinata.”

“Okay!” Hinata replied happily. Kageyama wanted to do more than toss with him? That sounded amazing. Hinata wondered what new training techniques Kageyama was thinking about. Leave it to Kageyama, Hinata thought proudly, to think of new ways for the two of them to train with each other and become stronger players.  
“  
So,” Kageyama said, hating himself for the hope he unwillingly felt rising in his body. “We understand each other, right? I like you.”

“And I like you!” Hinata replied, ecstatic with the reconfirmation of their friendship. 

“And now…that we….both know how we feel…” Kageyama said, feeling the edges of the smile he’d often heard referred to as ‘being able to make babies cry’ creeping along the corners of his mouth, “I was wondering…” He fumbled with the contents of his pockets until he found the list Sugawara had painstakingly helped him create entitled “Date ideas for Hinata.” After reading the title, Sugawara had added “that don’t involve going to Ukai-san’s convenience store and buying junk food!!!” and underlined it three times. He glanced nervously at the first item on the list and then blurted, “I was wondering if you’d…if you’d… _like to go to the movies with me_.”

Hinata smiled. “That sounds good!” He hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of the last time the two of them had gone to the movies. Hinata had been confused about the movie title, and instead of seeing the new American action flick that he’d been looking forward to all month, he and Kageyama had endured almost two hours of some violent horror film that had involved ghosts in a way that Hinata had never even thought possible.

They had left the theater thoroughly disturbed, with Hinata throwing up in the parking lot and Kageyama unable to string more than three words together without looking like he was going to follow suit. They had both sworn that they would never bring it up again, so the sudden invitation to the movies was unexpected, but welcome. Hinata would just have to triple check that they were actually seeing the correct movie this time.

The smile that Kageyama had been suppressing suddenly burst through.

Maybe Sugawara was right, he thought happily as he turned to finish cleaning up, it really doesn’t hurt to try.

And if Hinata thought it was a little weird that Kageyama wordlessly insisted on holding his hand that night while they walked part of the way home together, well, he didn’t say anything.

 

2.

 

Kageyama checked his phone for the fifth time. He was, he hated admitting, nervous.

This was his first real date with Hinata, and he wanted it to go well.

When he’d told Sugawara and Daichi about the good news (“I told you he felt the same way!” Sugawara had yelled gleefully, while Daichi clapped him on the back in congratulations) the two of them had drowned him in advice for the date.

Now all he could think about was where he would put his hand and if he’d picked the right kind of movie for their first date and would it be weird god he hoped it wouldn’t be weird he couldn’t stand it if it was weird.

But then Hinata actually showed up and it was decidedly Not Weird.

Kageyama had spent the first half of the movie terribly self-conscious about every aspect of himself in relation to Hinata. Had he overdressed? Was it weird that he’d bought the tickets? Hinata _had_ seem surprised by that, but it’s what you do on a date right? Should he keep his hands in his lap, or try to hold Hinata’s? Would it be weird if he skipped the handholding and maybe put his arm around Hinata’s shoulder? When would be a good time for their first kiss? Kageyama was _really_ looking forward to that one, but he hadn’t found the proper opportunity for it yet. Everything was so new and Kageyama just felt so painfully awkward. 

Hinata sat in his seat, completely oblivious to the inner turmoil wracking through Kageyama’s head. When he’d arrived that night, he’d been surprised by how _good_ Kageyama looked. Hinata wasn’t really the kind of person who usually noticed things like that. He’d once worn the same shirt four days in a row before Natsu, of all people, had finally said something about it. 

When his mom dropped him off in front of the theater, he spotted Kageyama before Kageyama spotted him. It was rare for Hinata to catch Kageyama off guard, so he slowed his steps to observe him for a moment before making his way over.

The first thing Hinata noticed was the way Kageyama looked. His shirt was one Hinata hadn’t seen before, and Kageyama wore it in that kind of carelessly fashionable way that only really tall and good-looking people could pull off. 

The second thing that Hinata noticed was that Kageyama seemed nervous, which puzzled Hinata. He couldn’t exactly remember, but he was pretty sure that the movie they were seeing would in no way be reminiscent of the _unspeakable disaster_ that was their last movie experience together. So why would Kageyama be nervous? What could account for the jittery way he kept checking his phone, and the way he was pacing back and forth, flexing and unflexing his hands sporadically. 

Hinata finally got fed up with his Kageyama watching and silently made his way behind Kageyama before pouncing onto his back.

“Kageyama,” he whined pitifully, “I’m so hungry. You promised to buy me a snack, remember?”

Kageyama had done no such thing, but in his current state, Hinata thought that maybe he could get a carton of popcorn out of the deal.

Kageyama just nodded dazedly and turned to face Hinata once he slid off his back. Hinata didn’t think he’d ever seen this expression on his face before. It looked like a combination of his confident pre-game attitude, that ‘I-can-conquer-the-world-with-my-own-two-hands’ vibe, but strangely combined with the pained sour expression Kageyama would wear whenever he had to compliment or, hell, even speak to Tsukishima.

Fast forward to an hour later and Kageyama had finally relaxed enough to tentatively place his hand on the armrest between their seats. The next step would be to actually force himself to move it around Hinata’s shoulders. Kageyama had seen some stupid yawn trick used in movies and in dramas when people would fake a yawn to get their arm over someone’s shoulders but that, he decided with a considering glance at Hinata, was totally out of the question right now, even if it was something he’d be willing to do. 

Hinata was a very responsive movie viewer. He leaned, he jerked, he jumped, and at one point in the movie he even screamed. He laughed with his whole body and focused on the screen with such rapt attention that Kageyama couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Was he the only one who felt affected by the fact that they were on a date? Hinata didn’t seem to be conscious of it at all, whereas Kageyama was agonizing over his every move. 

His hand twitched on the arm rest.

He had almost worked himself up to it, _that’s it Kageyama, just lift your fingers, one by one, his shoulder isn’t poisoned, c’mon you giant baby, you can do it_ , before the theater suddenly erupted in more screams and—

He felt Hinata’s hand squeezing his own for dear life.

Kageyama was puzzled, since this wasn’t supposed to be a scary movie (he knew Hinata had checked, and since Hinata was a moron, Kageyama had checked as well). But apparently there’d been some kind of disturbing stuff on screen because all of Kageyama’s carefully laid plans involving arms around shoulders and maybe heads on shoulders and maybe heads on shoulders shifting and going in for a kiss…had all been for nothing.

Hinata jumped in his seat and let out a little gasp. Kageyama squeezed his hand in reassurance and Hinata glanced over and smiled back to let him know it was appreciated before turning back to the film.

Kageyama looked down at the armrest where their two hands lay intertwined.

Well, it looked like wasn’t going to get that kiss, but this was pretty damn good too. 

He never did figure out what was happening in that movie.

 

3\. 

 

Hinata could not find Kageyama.

He had gone to Kageyama’s classroom during the lunch break like he always did, expecting to find Kageyama, lunch in hand.

Instead, he’d arrived at the classroom only to find a confused Yamaguchi peering at him from inside the doorway. “Hinata? Kageyama already left! I thought he was going to meet you.”

Hinata frowned, which he just was not used to doing, and left the classroom to try and find where Kageyama had slipped away to. The big jerk, Hinata thought, puffing out his cheeks petulantly, if he wanted to skip lunch he could’ve just told me.

It took Hinata some time, but he finally found Kageyama tucked away behind one of the language buildings. At first, all that Hinata could see were the straight, rigid lines of Kageyama’s shoulders. He almost called out until he saw another figure standing in front of Kageyama.

It was a girl, Hinata realized with a shock. Why would a girl be out here with Kageyama?

He looked hard at the girl, trying to figure out who it could be. He had no idea. It might be an upperclassman? His eyes caught on something she was holding. A small, pink envelope, clutched tightly in a shaking hand. 

This was a confession, Hinata realized, and he was so dazed by that he almost didn’t notice that Kageyama had started speaking.

His voice was uncharacteristically soft, Hinata noted. Is this how Kageyama is with girls? 

He was actually surprised this was the first confession he’d walked in on. Kageyama was tall, and handsome, and talented. Girls were probably lining up to confess to him. How had he never seen one before?

But more importantly, what was Kageyama saying to her?

“Thank you so much for your kind words,” he was saying, and he suddenly seemed so mature and handsome, standing there in front of that girl, “but I’m sorry, I just can’t return your feelings. I already have someone that I like.” 

Hinata watched Kageyama give a quick, apologetic bow, and the girl nodded her head jerkily.

He thought that they might be saying something else, but he couldn’t hear them over the ringing in his own ears. Kageyama had someone he liked? _Kageyama?_

By the time Hinata had collected his muddled thoughts, the girl had disappeared and Kageyama was somehow standing right in front of him.

Hinata let out a little squeak of terror and jumped back, reflexively.

“Kageyama! Warn a guy, next time!”

Kageyama didn’t even both responding to that.

“What are you doing here,” he asked flatly.

“I—I was….well, you see, you weren’t in the classroom when I went up to have lunch with you and I just…wondered where you were,” Hinata finished lamely.

Kageyama didn’t say anything. Hinata peered at his face. “So, what did that girl want?” he asked, even though he definitely knew what the girl had wanted. He just wanted to hear Kageyama say it, for some reason. “She was really beautiful!”

“She wanted me to be her boyfriend,” Kageyama said, and his voice sounded strange. “But I told her that I already had someone special to me,” and when his eyes met Hinata’s they were like flames.

“What do you think about that?” Kageyama asked, and when had he gotten so close?

“I think that’s g-good.”

Kageyama had obviously lied to the girl to spare her feelings, Hinata thought.

Kageyama started to lean in, face strangely intent, and he was so close that Hinata could feel his breath and he could see Kageyama’s eyelashes and he felt his own eyes begin to close—

“Kageyyyyyyyyyamaaaaaaa! Hinnnnnnnataaaaa!”

“Are you kidding me.” Kageyama pulled back, looking murderous.

Hinata stayed frozen, hands tight as his sides as he considered what had almost just happened. Or…what he thought was going to happen? That could not _possibly_ be what was about to happen. He had imagined it. He just felt really weird because he saw Kageyama with some girl and he was afraid that Kageyama having a girlfriend with mess with volleyball. 

He just felt weird. Because of that. Yes. Correct.

“Kageyama! Hinata!” he heard Nishinoya call again.

Oh yeah, he remembered. He and Kageyama had promised the day before that they would do some extra receiving practice with Nishinoya that afternoon. Or, well, Hinata had said he would and Kageyama had invited himself along. When Hinata had looked at him, surprised and questioning, Kageyama’s face had gone pink and he’d turned away, muttering something about how ‘there is no such thing as too much practice.’

Hinata noticed Kageyama had turned his attention back to him and it was intense, but that was normal for Kageyama. The strange…feeling…from the moment before had passed. Hinata impulsively grabbed Kageyama’s hand and yanked him along, screaming, “Nishinooyyyyyya! We’re commmmming!”

Kageyama missed every receive that afternoon.

 

4.

 

“Presents,” Kageyama repeated doubtfully.

“Yeah!” Nishinoya said, pounding the air with his fists. “Presents.”

“Girls love presents,” Tanaka added, nodding his head sagely.

“What kind of present?” 

“Welllllll,” Nishinoya said, tapping his chin thoughtfully, “depends on the kinda girl she is, I guess. What does she like?”

What does Hinata like, Kageyama wondered. Well, he likes volleyball, obviously. He likes riding his bike. He likes me tossing to him. He likes that one cartoon that Kageyama finds incomprehensible. He likes his sister, most of the time. He likes animals. 

“Uh, they like…animals? And their...family? And….volleyball?”

Tanaka and Nishinoya exchanged identical considering looks before shrugging. 

“Ugh, I don’t even know why I asked the two of you! You’ve never had a girlfriend in your life!”

“It’s important to have goals!” Tanaka screamed, doing that weird glowering face that intimidated exactly no one.

“Well, if she likes volleyball, then just buy her a volleyball,” Nishinoya said in a ‘no-duh’ kind of voice. 

He then catapulted himself onto Tanaka’s back, screamed “CHARGE!” and the two of them whirled away to wherever it was they existed when they weren’t being problems in Kageyama’s life.

Hinata doesn’t _need_ a volleyball, Kageyama thought in frustration, but a volleyball related gift…just might not be a bad idea.

The next day, Hinata was surprised to find a new pair of knee guards in his volleyball locker, with a note on the door:  
_I noticed yours were getting a little worn…bought you some new ones…  
\- Kageyama_

 

5.

 

Kageyama carefully checked his phone again, making sure that he had sent Hinata the correct address. The electronic characters were the same as they were the last ten times he checked. The name of the restaurant, the street, and the building number, all there in plain view.

Hinata was late.

Like, really late.

And he wasn’t answering his phone.

And Kageyama thought he might die because this was going to be their Big Date. 

Kageyama had been slowly but surely marking things off the list he’d made with Sugawara. They’d gone to the movies, gotten ice cream together, gone to the park, even visited an amusement park together (despite Kageyama’s repeated insistence that roller coasters made him sick). 

This date, in particular, felt more real than the others, though. Kageyama supposed it was because this was something they’d never done together before. Yes, Hinata and he had eaten together before, many times. But all of those times had been at ramen stands, or eating microwaved ramen on plastic chairs outside Ukai-san’s convenience store, or grabbing a quick greasy snack together from a 7/11 on their way home from practice. 

The restaurant wasn’t particularly nice, or even particularly special, but it was definitely a significant upgrade from their usual junk food fare.

Kageyama had even gone through the trouble of dressing up a little. His mom, soft-eyed and smiling, had helped smooth down his hair, and even picked out a nice jacket for him after he’d grudgingly explained what was happening that night. She hadn’t had the chance to see Hinata since they’d started dating, but she’d made it clear that she expected it to happen sometime soon after this date.

Kageyama compulsively reached for his phone again to check the time. 7:30. Hinata was thirty minutes late. The host had started been giving Kageyama increasingly irritated stares, and the waitress had become quite aggressive in her efforts to get something besides his drink order. Despite all that, Kageyama felt like he had to wait to do anything until Hinata got there. This was their night, and he didn’t want to start it by himself.

Kageyama eventually had to sit on his hands to step himself from checking his phone. The waitress had stopped coming over altogether and was ignoring him now.

That was, of course, when Hinata decided to show up.

He ran into the restaurant in typical Hinata fashion, rushed and heedless, whipping his head around until he spotted Kageyama. 

“Kageyama—” he panted, wringing his hands, wearing the most apologetic look Kageyama had ever seen, “I’m so sorry. I just….” He took a moment to breathe. His shirt was soaked, Kageyama realized. “My bike…the tire…flat…I had to…run…”

Kageyama’s eyes widened in realization. “Your bike got a flat tire so you ran the entire way here?”

Hinata nodded frantically, his whole head moving dramatically up and down in his desperation to convey the sincerity of his words to Kageyama. 

“I’m soooo sorry, and I know you probably hate me now, but I really meant to be here on time!”

Kageyama allowed his hands to slide out from where they’d been clenched underneath his thighs. “You’re only,” he tapped the front of his phone, “forty five minutes late.”

Hinata collapsed, groaning, into the seat across from Kageyama. “I thought my heart was going to explode from running so hard,” he moaned.

All of Kageyama’s irritation and doubt had faded away the second he’d seen Hinata’s terrified face sprinting into the upscale restaurant. Kageyama had known in his heart of hearts that Hinata wasn’t ditching him, but he’d begun to wonder.

The waitress seemed to sense that Kageyama was finally ready to order something besides tepid tap water and made her way over to their table.

Hinata and Kageyama ordered their food, and settled in to wait. Hinata had finally stopped panting and he wasn’t sweating anymore. Kageyama noticed that he’d actually put some effort into his appearance for one of their dates this time.

“Your mom dress you up?” he asked, teasingly.

Hinata looked down at his clothes and then looked up, smiling wryly. “How’d you guess?”

“Well, for once you don’t look about seven years old. I’d say you’re averaging the appearance of a…twelve year old, today.”

Hinata’s eyes bulged in disbelief as he scoffed. “Seven? Seven!”

“Today you’re twelve, though,” Kageyama reminded him pleasantly. 

“Well, you look about forty so I hope everyone thinks that I’m a twelve year old kid here with a forty year old man and they’re all weirded out and someone calls the cops on you and you go to _jail_.”

“If I went to jail who would you play volleyball with?”

“I’m sure I’d find someone else,” Hinata muttered angrily. “Enjoy prison life.”

And from then on the two devolved into their usual squabbling. The evening was surprisingly free of volleyball talk, which was unusual for them, to say the least.

It wasn’t until the waitress brought the check and Kageyama snatched it away from Hinata’s reaching hands that he remembered the real reason he’d forced Hinata to come to a place that was so out of the norm for them.

“I’ve got it,” Kageyama said, voice hard and brooking no discussion.

“You’ve always ‘got it’ lately,” Hinata said, puffing his cheeks in irritation. “I’m not a girl, Kageyama.”

Kageyama narrowed his eyes. “I know that, stupid. I just want to do something nice for you.”

“Well I don’t know—” Hinata started saying before making a confused face and reaching into his pocket, pulling out his cellphone. “I thought it was dead,” he mumbled to himself before flipping it open.

“Mom? Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Yes. In a minute. I’ll tell him. Bye.”

He snapped the phone shut and looked apologetically at Kageyama. “My mom is waiting outside,” he explained apologetically. “I called her earlier when my tire went flat so I could tell her where to pick it up, and I thought it died after, which is why I didn’t call you,” he looked at his phone, mystified, before raising his eyes to Kageyama. “Anyways, she’s here right now to take me home. She told me to tell you she’s really sorry, but she had to pick up Natsu first, and this is on her way home, so it’s just easier for her.” Hinata gestured down at the dinner check Kageyama had unconsciously crumbled in his fist. “Are you sure you’ve got that?”

Kageyama could barely manage to scrape out a strangled sounding “yes” before they heard a pointed car horn blow from outside. Hintata glanced in its direction, and then back at Kageyama.

He really did look sorry, Kageyama thought.

“I guess that means she’s here,” he said, and Kageyama really hoped he wasn’t imagining Hinata’s reluctance. “Thank you so much for dinner. It was…nice. Really nice,” and his smile was almost enough to make Kageyama feel like this whole night wasn’t slipping through his fingers.

And with that, Hinata scurried out of the restaurant.

Kageyama unclenched his hand and let the check fall to the table and felt his foot nudge the package that had been sitting under the table like a bomb the entire dinner.

He reached under the table and placed the package carefully in front of him. He tried to look at it like Hinata would have. The wrapping job left a lot to be desired, he thought, turning it over and looking at the messy angles of the corners, the volleyball magazine wrapping paper, but Hinata would have liked it anyway, he decided. He would have loved it.

The amount of embarrassing googling Kageyama had had to do to find what he thought was the perfect gift was truly incredible.

He knew, intellectually, that he was making a big deal out of nothing, and that if a girl he was dating did this kind of thing for him he’d probably find it odd, at best, and annoying at worst.

But that hadn’t stopped him from making Hinata the best one month anniversary gift he could. He hated himself for even caring about something so mushy and weird, but he wanted to do this right. Whatever weird relationship he and Hinata had, he never wanted it to end because of something he didn’t do. 

So he’d gone through hours of old volleyball footage, finding videos on Karasuno’s school site, volleyball fanatic sites, and even youtube, just to find enough video of number ten, that ‘Little Giant’ that Hinata was so obsessed with being like. 

Kageyama had edited it all together (through the impatient guidance of a beleaguered and blackmailed Tsukishima – “HELP HIM!” Daichi had screamed, while Yamaguchi snickered in the background), and then put it all together onto a DVD. The final package was simple, but Kageyama knew that Hinata would love it once he realized what it was.

“Can I take these plates for you?” the waitress asked politely, gesturing to the tabletop and wrenching him out of his thoughts. He stood abruptly, knocking his chair back a little, and gave a small bow.

“Of course, sorry to be an inconvenience.”

She nodded understandingly and waved him away with a small smile.

After he’d paid (shuddering at the price of the dinner), he pulled his phone out to call his mom to let her know he was ready to go home. When he pressed the home button on the phone, he was surprised to see a text message from Hinata lighting up his screen.

 **Hinata** : sorry I had to leave so early!!!!! （ﾉ´д｀）I’ll see you tomorrow, Kageyama. Thank you for dinner <33333333333333333333333

It took Kageyama a minute to figure out what the less than sign followed by a series of threes was supposed to be, but when he did he couldn’t help but smile, feeling much lighter all of the sudden.

He’d give Hinata the gift tomorrow, he decided. It could wait one more night.

 

0.

 

Kageyama had the gift in his hand, his mouth was open, and he was going to say “Happy one month anniversary,” and he was probably going to die of embarrassment after, he knew, but he was going to say it anyway because it seemed like some of the cheesy crap that Hinata would go for, when suddenly Hinata zeroed in on the package in Kageyama’s hand and managed to open his mouth and speak first.

“Is that a gift? For me? Gimme!” and in typical Hinata fashion, because he was secretly four years old, he snatched the present out of Kageyama’s hand and ripped it open. As the wrapping tumbled to the floor, Hinata peered at the gift curiously. “A DVD?”

Kageyama unstuck his tongue and was about to start speaking when something seemed to click in Hinata’s head.

“Oh! A volleyball DVD? Is this for our special training? I was wondering when that was going to start! It’s been like, a whole month!”

Whatever Kageyama had been expecting it had not been that. “Special training?” 

Hinata had been doing that punching the air thing he often did when excited, but he paused long enough to say, “Yeah, remember about a month ago when you said you wanted to do more than toss with me? I thought we were gonna start a whole new training thing together but you never said anything else about it so I thought you forgot about it.”

The second Hinata started talking it was as if Kageyama stopped being able to properly hear. He technically could hear what Hinata was saying, and the meaning of his words filtered in and out of his ears, but there was really only one thought that was running through his mind like a frantic wounded thing. 

This entire time, Kageyama had thought they were dating and they weren’t.

They never had been.

Hinata’s words put everything from the past month into a strange terrible new light. It explained why they had never done more than hold hands, and even then Hinata had shot him strange looks. It explained why Hinata hadn’t been that upset about the girl who had confessed to Kageyama. It explained why Hinata was so confused by Kageyama’s sudden shift in attitude, trying to be more patient and understanding, and in his own clumsy way, more kind. Hinata had made faces when Kageyama had bought him gifts, but Kageyama had just brushed it off as Hinata being embarrassed about their new relationship status. 

But really, the entire time, it had all been in Kageyama’s head. The feelings that he thought had been building up between them for the past month were entirely Kageyama’s alone. Hinata had probably thought Kageyama had lost his mind.

Kageyama would cry if it wasn’t so pathetic. ‘I want to do more than toss with you.’ What a joke.

He was drawn back into reality by a small hand waving repeatedly in front of his face. “Yoo-hoooo, earth to Kageyamaaaa. What’s going on up there? Did you have some kind of robot malfunction? Do you need me to put some oil in your joints?” Hinata joked, eyes crinkling up at the corners.

In that moment, Kageyama almost hated him.

“I have to go,” he said abruptly, turning away on his heel. He didn’t care how strange he probably looked as he began sprinting away, as fast as his legs could take him. 

He could hear Hinata calling after him but he couldn’t turn around and face him. He had to get away.

He’d been such a fool.

 

+1

 

Hinata didn’t understand. Kageyama hadn’t talked to him in a week. And this wasn’t the normal ‘you’re-getting-the-silent-treatment-from-me-because-you-stole-my-food-you-little-shit’ that he usually received from Kageyama. This was straight up stone cold silence. It was like Hinata was a ghost.

Kageyama looked right through him at practice. 

When Kageyama had started tossing to Tanaka during practice on the first day, Hinata had opened his mouth to protest, only to have Sugawara smoothly swoop in, ushering him away with a smile, saying something about, “Now, now, let others have their turn, Hinata. Why don’t you and I toss together for a while?” and Hinata hadn’t been able to think of a good reason not to, other than the way Kageyama had looked at him, or rather _not_ looked at him, had made him feel like he was lower than dirt and tossing together had always been the best way for the two of them to work through their problems. 

Everything seemed insignificant in the face of the incredible volleyball that only the two of them could play together.

Hinata had been upset, but not really worried that day. He was sure by tomorrow everything would return to normal. But then he had to toss with Sugawara again the next day, and the next, and the next, until it had stretched out into an entire week of the two of them not exchanging a single word or toss.

Everything became clear on a Friday afternoon. Kageyama had somehow been able to beg out of the extra cleaning that he and Hinata traditionally did together after practice every Friday, only to be replaced by an apologetic but firm Sugawara. 

Hinata was even more frustrated than usual, because he’d been expecting today to be the day that he finally cornered Kageyama into talking about what was bothering him, when the two of them were alone in the gym together.

He gazed forlornly at Sugawara, who was humming happily to himself as he rolled up the net. Hinata was suddenly struck with inspiration. Maybe Sugawara would know what to do!

“Sugawara,” he began, scuffing the gym floor with his shoe while he awkwardly avoided eye contact. He felt so lame asking this, but he had to know if Sugawara could help him.

“Yes?” Sugawara said, turning around, face curious.

“Do you know why Kageyama won’t talk to me anymore?” he asked bluntly. Like ripping of a band-aid, he thought.

Sugawara’s response was not what he expected.

“Are you serious?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“Of course I am!” Hinata said, jumping in the air for emphasis. “Kageyama won’t talk to me, or look at me, or toss to me, and I don’t know what I did! And he won’t tell me because he!” Jump. “Won’t!” Jump. “Talk to me!”

“Hinata, calm down,” Sugawara said, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder so he couldn’t attempt another one of those ridiculous jumps.

He looked into Hinata’s eyes, expression oddly intent. 

“Are you honestly telling me you have no idea why Kageyama could be angry with you?”

Hinata whipped his head side to side so hard his bangs flew into his face.

Sugawara gave a low sigh of disbelief. “It’s because you guys broke up, Hinata. Can’t you be more sensitive?”

Hinata had seen movies where whenever a character hears something really shocking, the movie freezes and it’s just the sound of a record scratching.

He would be that character right now.

“What.” Hinata asked. He wasn’t positive, but he was about 90% sure that he and Kageyama had never dated before. What the hell was Sugawara talking about?

“You guys dated for the past month and broke up. Are you seriously not understanding this right now?” Sugawara said, and his eyebrows were raising themselves into seriously dangerous disbelief territory.

“We were not dating,” Hinata replied flatly. He would know!

“That’s not what I was told,” Sugawara said, his face inching less towards open disbelief and more into confusion. “Kageyama came to me a month ago asking advice on the best way to ask you out. It was…about a month and a half ago? Are you seriously telling me Kageyama never asked you out?”

And now would be another movie moment, Hinata thought numbly, where the dumbass main character realized that everything he had been doing for the past month had been under the worst false assumption made in the history of humanity. 

“That…was him…asking me out!?” he asked, voice raising with every word. “That total moron! That idiot! That dumbass! ‘I want to do more than toss with you!’ What! Who says that! That was him asking me out! Are you kidding!” It was all he could do not to turn to smash his face against the wall and scream his frustration into it.

“This entire time – all the stuff we’ve been doing. It’s because he thought we were dating? Idiot Kageyama! Doing everything on his own! He didn’t even ask me properly, and now he’s angry because, what, I didn’t understand his weird socially awkward weirdness?”

Sugawara could only stare.

“I’m gonna kill him. Wait. I’m gonna date him, and then I’m gonna kill him.” He pounded his hand with his fist, eyes aflame. “Sugawara, would it be okay if you finished cleaning up today by yourself? I really don’t think this can wait.”

Sugawara managed to nod, and watched as Hinata sprinted out of the gym. 

What had he unleashed, Sugawara wondered, shuddering.

Hinata arrived at Kageyama’s house in what felt like record time. He thanked the combination of his new tires, and his own righteous fury. Kageyama was such an _idiot_ and Hinata was going to make him _see_.

He raised his fist to the door, hesitated for approximately one second, before pounding away with his fist and screaming, “KAGEYAMA! Open this door right now or I’m going to stand out here screaming until your neighbors call the cops and then I’ll go to jail and then it will be your fault that I’m locked up and my mom will cry and Natsu will cry and my dad will cry and Tanaka will cry and Nishinoya will cry and Daichi will cry and –”

“For the love of god, come inside!” Kageyama screamed, wrenching open the door and roughly yanking Hinata inside.

For a moment, all Hinata could hear was the pounding of blood in his ears as he stood in the doorway to Kageyama’s home. He hadn’t actually really thought his plan through very well. He just knew, looking at Kageyama and feeling angry all over again, that Kageyama had no right to be treating him the way he was. Not at all. Kageyama didn’t know anything about anything.

Kageyama had his hands folded over his chest and was glowering at the floor.

Hinata mustered up his courage, reached out, and pushed. “Kageyama Tobio, you’re an idiot.”

Kageyama’s face twitched. “A moron.” Hinata pushed again. “A complete and total dumbass.” Another push. “I think you’re the stupidest” push “human on Earth, actually.” Push. “I—”

And suddenly there was a hand gripping his wrist so tightly he thought it might leave marks.

“Stop. Pushing. Me,” Kageyama said, and that was when Hinata’s eyes glanced behind Kageyama’s rigid shoulders and he realized he’d literally backed Kageyama into a corner. 

Hinata huffed out a breath and leaned back, giving Kageyama some space. 

Kageyama’s eyes were still fixed stubbornly on the ground.

Hinata, never one for subtlety or niceties, decided he would just say what he had come to say. No more pushing or dancing around each other. Just simple, straight-forward words.

“Kageyama, like I said earlier, you’re pretty dumb. You don’t listen, you fight with me about everything, and I’m pretty sure you cheat when we race. I haven’t figured out how yet, but I have my suspicions. Anyway! You’re pretty terrible most of the time. But the other times…The other times, Kageyama, you’re my favorite person in the world. You’re sensitive about stuff, even though you pretend not to be. You remember little things that other people don’t, like that time I said I got car sick if I didn’t have the window seat, and so you always make sure I have it. You’re arrogant, but you also want to help others improve. You want everyone to be as good as you are, and you love being on a team. One of the biggest concerns in your life is whether or not animals like you, I mean, _c’mon_. Kageyama, you’re a joke, but you’re my favorite one. And now I’m going to say this very clearly. I love you. I hadn’t realized it until today, but after everything you’ve been through this past month, I don’t think I could feel any other way. Will you please date me?”

As soon as he’d let Hinata into the apartment, Kageyama only felt a combination of awkward and angry. When Hinata started pushing him, he pretty much only felt angry. By the time Hinata was halfway done with his speech, the anger had faded away to be replaced by a bitter, ridiculous hope, and by the end of Hinata’s speech, Kageyama could almost not comprehend what he was hearing. 

“You want to…Are you serious, Hinata?”

Hinata reached up to shake Kageyama’s shoulders. “Yes. And please take note, you complete weirdo, that that is how you ask a person out. Not weird volleyball analogies. Directly and clearly. Will you please date me. So?”

All of the sadness and humiliation and self-loathing that had been clouding Kageyama’s mind since the last week were gone. In their place was an ecstatic happiness that Kageyama could feel building up inside of him until it threatened to spill over and all he could do to contain it was wrap his arms around Hinata’s waist, pulling him up and they were kissing, they were finally kissing, and Hinata _liked him_ , no, _loved_ him, and “So wait,” Hinata panted between kisses, “does this mean yes?”

Kageyama began to move awkwardly backwards towards his room, Hinata still in his arms, both unwilling to relinquish the other. “You asked me much more clearly than I asked you, so I’m going to answer much more clearly than you answered. Yes, Hinata, I will go out with you, you giant loser, and for future reference, when someone tells you they _like you_ it usually means that they _like y_ —”

Well, Kageyama thought, as Hinata silenced him with another drugging kiss, still fumbling their way backwards, this was going to prove a new and interesting way to end arguments with Hinata. 

He couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> i love this pairing as much as i love silly, rushed, emotional endings. end me. 
> 
> as always you can hit me up on tumblr @ bonesache.tumblr.com
> 
> let me know what you thought! xoxo


End file.
